Special Interests / Lobbyists

During President Obama's term, the latest report came out stating in 2012, organized interest groups spent$3.5 billionannually lobbying the federal government. And in 2014 a study titled "Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens" found that rich individuals and business-controlled interest groups largely shape policy outcomes in the United States. So what steps will President Trump take to change this?

​​​1/28/17: Following up on his campaign pledge to "drain the swamp" in Washington, Trump signed an executive action to institute a five-year lobbying ban for administration officials once they leave government, and put in place a lifetime ban on lobbying on behalf of a foreign government. It's about time a President has stood up against the lobbyist problem in Washington.

6/7/17: President Trump's Justice Department announced it will no longer allow prosecutors to strike settlement agreements with big companies directing them to make payouts to outside groups, ending an Obama-era practice that Republicans decried as a “slush fund” that padded the accounts of special interest groups.

​6/8/18: Trump's Justice Dept. makes foreign lobbyist memos public for first time. The disclosures are meant to promote government transparency and make it more difficult for advocates of foreign governments to remain undisclosed. For the first time, the public is able to read advisory opinions the department has issued to lobbyists, public relations professionals and others about whether they need to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA.

6/20/18: Steaks and other perishable food from the White House’s canceled congressional picnic have been donated to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. President Donald Trump canceled the picnic to focus on the immigration debate.